Visual skills utilized to play the sport of soccer:

Shoot with more accuracy, judging the location of the goal better in free space.

Move around the field better, with a clear perception of distance.

Read the field more intelligently, aware of traffic movement and your relation to it.

Anticipate where the game is going next based on what you see.

Passing and Shooting accuracy requires excellent depth perception.

Visual tracking is an important skill required to track and locate the movements of players and direction of the ball on field.

Anticipation of the play as it progresses throughout the game.

Reaction time - blocked shots, intercept passes, angles of attack.

Kelli Robinson

Kelli Robinson, Former Professional Player for Denmark's Danish.Bundes.Union. For H.E. I National
￼Championship and in the German Bundesliga. 1St American to play in Denmark's top Premier League
￼And 1st American to be selected to the all Northern European Cup All Star Team.

Professional athletes as well as novices are finding great benefits using vision training. "I did my own extensive research and tried it before introducing it to the students and professionals I train" said Kelli Robinson, former professional soccer player and sports strength and conditioning trainer.

"Vizual Edge Performance Training program is the icing on the cake for many athletes I work with looking to improve and go to the next level" said Robinson who trains athletes in a variety of hand eye coordination sports including a soccer team in California. "When my soccer athletes use Vizual Edge (VEPT) they are able to see opportunities better than before, they can make the best choice faster and help all players react quicker which is especially important for goal keepers."

Robinson saw results almost immediately for herself, and her players. "For the amount of time you put in using it, it's a huge payoff. The game comes down to feet and inches, and if you are that much quicker and recognize opportunities, you'll be better" adds Robinson. She adds that for soccer VEPT helps with giving players confidence that they are making the best decisions. "Soccer is such a creative sport, a lot of options are available on the field, and to be able to recognize your choices sooner, and act on them is what really helps".

VEPT is now android and ipad compatible. Making it easier for users to take it anywhere. "This is much, much more than a vision test," says Ophthalmologist and Vizual Edge Performance Training developer Barry Seiller, MD, MBA. Vizual Edge is a product based on intensive scientific research that was conducted by a third party and integrated into the visual system. This has greatly impacted the testing, training and is improving athletes' visual skills through carefully designed visual exercises.

"Our program is a meticulously calibrated assessment of individual's' entire visual system, including depth perception, tracking, decision-making, reaction time, and concentration, all of which impact performance. As with any physical skill, some players are born with excellent visual skills, others have to work hard to develop it. VEPT is an assessment and more: it provides a customized training program to sharpen visual skills with measurable results."

Adds Kathy Puchalski, VEPT's co-developer and vice president, "We are excited to make this program accessible to more people than ever. VEPT software already has demonstrated measurable results worldwide in many sports, including with 10 Major League baseball organizations. We believe all athletes deserve the opportunity to improve their game - whether it's golf, soccer, football, baseball, tennis, hockey - virtually any sport that requires hand-eye coordination."

Robinson wishes that Vizual Edge was around while she was competing, but is enjoying using this new technology and continues to use it in all aspects of strength and condition training with her athletes.

Facilities in Europe are incorporating sports vision to help athletes enhance the visual component

Vision performance services offer new area of expansion for ophthalmic practices

by: Dr. Barry L. Seiller, MBAOcular Surgery News (7/29/2013)

Athletes across the globe, whether professional, amateur or recreational, are embracing new technologies and training methods to boost their performance. But while they lift weights, train in wind tunnels, adhere to strict diets and spend countless hours perfecting techniques, they often overlook one crucial body component: their eyes.

Recent studies are definitive: Athletes with superior vision skills perform better on the playing field. Until recently, however, no quantitative, interactive programs existed in the world of vision training. A U.S.-based company, Vizual Edge, is working to revolutionize the vision training game.

The Effect Of Visual Acuity Degradation On The Visual Judgement Of Sport Officials

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of visual acuity degradation on the visual judgment of sport officials. Visual acuity was analyzed by a standard visual acuity wall chart. Visual judgment was determined by a tennis ball line test where subjects have to determine if balls are classified as "in" or "out".

RESULTS: A paired-samples t test was calculated to compare the mean pretest (normal vision) score to the mean posttest (degraded vision) score. The mean on the pretest was 25.73 (sd = 2.16), and the mean on the posttest was 16.91 (sd = 3.22). The results of the paired-samples t test determined a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores (t(21) = 2.69, p < .05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that degrading the visual acuity of sport officials significantly impairs their ability to make correct line calls.

Soccer vision must be developed in progressive stages, and a player must always have good technique

Vision Training For Soccer

by: Stewart Flahertylivestrong.com (4/29/2010)

Vision is a crucial skill for a soccer player while in possession of the ball. Soccer vision is the ability to see defensive pressure and spot opportunities to pass to open teammates. Soccer vision must be developed in progressive stages, and a player must always have good technique to execute a pass, even if he has excellent vision.

Visual skills of elite Brazilian soccer players

In conclusion, the present study reports that the visual skills of more developed and experienced elite soccer players (U20 and main squad) are greater than the visual skills of younger and less experienced elite soccer players (U15 and U17).

Considering that these athletes never received specific visual tracking training implies that elite soccer training in itself might be responsible for the development of visual tracking skill.